19.01.11 16:29 Age: 14 yrs
China’s Tariff Policy For 2011
As part of China's efforts to encourage international trade, implement the policy to accelerate the restructuring of industry and keep pace with technological developments, further adjustments to the import and export tariffs came into effect on 1 January 2011. This article summarizes the main changes, including adjustments to the duty rates and tariff codes.
Major changes to import and export duty rates
1. Most Favored Nation (MFN) duty rates
¡¤ Because China has fulfilled all of its commitments to the World Trade Organization with respect to tariff concessions by 2010, the MFN duty rates will remain unchanged for 2011.
¡¤ 55 types of commodities, including photosensitive materials, will continue to be subject to specific or compound rates. Specific rates for eight film tariff items will be adjusted.
2. Interim duty rates
The Chinese government sets interim import and export duty rates on certain products to encourage imports or restrict exports. Hence, interim import duty rates are lower than MFN duty rates, while interim export duty rates are higher than normal export duty rates. The interim import and export duty rates are generally valid for one year. The rates are subject to an annual review by the government and can be set and adjusted at any time during the year based on actual needs.
a. Interim import duty rates
There are a total of 637 tariff codes in the 2011 list of products with interim import duty rates, as compared to 619 tariff codes for 2010.
The following products have been added to the list:
¡¤ Resource products, such as propane, butane;
¡¤ Basic raw materials, such as polyimide film and titanium belt;
¡¤ Critical components for advanced technology, such as high definition cameras, polarizers for LCD projectors and electrical parking brakes.
In accordance with the changes to domestic productivity, technical capacity, and supply and demand, the government will increase or abolish the interim import duty rates in 2011 on carbon fiber yarns, ion exchange membranes and automobile superchargers.
b. Interim export duty rates
¡¤ The government will continue to impose interim export duty rates on energy-consuming, heavy polluting and resource-intensive commodities, such as coal, crude oil, fertilizer and nonferrous metal.
¡¤ To regulate the export of "rare earth minerals" and alleviate the surge in fertilizer prices, the export duty rates on certain rare earth commodities are increased, the applicable periods for different duty rates for fertilizer in the slow or peak export season are adjusted, as is the benchmark price for the slow season.
3. Conventional duty rates
Conventional duty rates are applicable to products originating from countries or regions that have concluded a Free Trade Agreement ("FTA") with China. Conventional duty rates generally are more favorable than MFN duty rates.
¡¤ Under the Early Harvest Program of the new Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, 557 early harvest products originating from Taiwan area will enjoy conventional duty rates beginning in 2011.
¡¤ According to the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement for the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macau, 11 more products (including certain fruits, foods and conveyer belts for goods) originating from Hong Kong and one more product (i.e. electrodeless discharge lamps) originating from Macau will enjoy a zero duty rate on the import into Mainland China beginning in 2011.
¡¤ The scope of applicable commodities in existing effective FTAs and preferential duty conventions will further expand in 2011. Such FTAs and conventions include the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement and the FTAs with ASEAN, Chile, New Zealand, Pakistan and Singapore, as well as the China-Peru FTA, which enters into effect on 1 March 2010.
Revisions to import and export tariff codes
The government will adjust import and export tariff codes generally around the end of each year. To enable the classification of a product to be more precise, the number of import and export tariff codes will increase from 7,923 to 7,977 in 2011. The changes mainly cover new items, such as chromium, zirconium and copper materials, raster glass measuring devices, stannic oxide, aluminum plastic composite panels, grain seeders, etc.